Mr. Gibson
You are a very naive person to say the least, neither Hobbytown USA nor Kato could careless about this dealer. All they know is some dumb *** owning stores in Wisconsin is stacking their shelves with their product and they could care less what happens. Furthermore if you investigated other threads I have written you will find I have traveled to Green Bay and Milwaukee to buy train equipment in various gauges. I do not buy from this store anymore given his policies.
Like I also said Mr. Gibson that you edited out, when I started buying the Kato engines I thought they were slickest engine around. I had 4 Kato’s. Three out of four are dead in the water with tow of them dead out of the box. The oldest Kato engine now of 2 years still runs well. I am quite glad that there are many happy Kato customers not getting screwed like I did, and I will not pay someone else to fix something that shouldn’t have been broke in the first place. If you will investigate a number threads over time there are also a number of problems experienced with Kato engines by other owners.
By far if you buy a Kato engine that will run or run for awhile, it is a smoother, quieter engine than Athearn, but my personal failure rate in the models I have purchased will keep me from buying them again, as it is MY money. I have about a half dozen athearns when I started in HO, they are all still running. When I pay $40 for an engine I expect problems. When I pay $140 for an engine I expect more, I got less, and less three times. Mr. Gibson since you are a self appointed spokesperson for Kato, you can tell your company when someone contacts them with a complaint (KATO) don’t ignore it, try to fix it, or you will find someone (me) bitching about them where ever I go. Mr. Gibson before you align your personal name with a product, make sure you know all the facts, I can believe you lived in Wisconsin, as your lack of knowledge of the facts shows before you open your BIG MOUTH. As for Kato USA, if you don’t like
I won’t waste my time trying to convince you otherwise. It’s your money, and if your job pays you $70,000 yr. you obviously have a brain.
You should know that a dealer / seller in most states has a legal obligation to make a "reasonable effort to make good on what he sells, or you can take him to court.
This is on merchandise out of the box.
If the problem comes about later, there is an explicit Warranty packed in the box, that spells out the conditions and time limit. If it wasn’t in the box, a copy can be obtained easily.
If you are passed the Warranty date, you can have the factory owned service station repair the product. The only difference is it’s not for free. Last I heard Athearn and Atlas have the same set up. Is this the problem?
If you have not availed yourself of one of the above 3 resources, you have done yourself a disservice, and I’m sure you can ‘unload’ your ‘Junk’ for a reasonable figure.
Mr. Gibson
Kato was contacted and didn’t care. Kato did me the disservice. So I am currently running Atlas engines and will trial their reliability. Even a local hobby shop in Green Bay told me he has disgruntled customers with Kato, so he is stocking more Atlas engines. So far my Atlas engine has ran fine. I hope the next 10 will also!
Anyone can feel free to buy Kato, just be prepared to fix them. Our large train show in Green Bay had many Kato engines in SD 40-2 for sale. Nobody here wants them, and some were marked down to $70. People were buying Athearn over the Kato. I would have purchased more Atlas engines at the show but not many were available. As for the SD 40 the motor just froze up in that one this week, once again a Kato! I saw those marked down today at the hobby store, I wonder why?
As for the Hobbytown USA stores I simply canceled payment on the check for not honoring the merchandise. The owner has his property back. I in turn will not frequent his store. No matter how many times he threatened me with the district attorney’s office, no matter how many times he called the police, it did him no good. A canceled check is not a bounced check.
Personally I think manufacturers out there are saving a lot of money finding you suckers to fini***he manufacturing process for them. Kind of stupid to pay Kato’s high price when you have to finish manufacturing it isn’t it?
I have a Conrail SD40 from the last SD40 run and love it.I bought an SD40-2 and had to rewire it.Took me about 15 minutes with a soldering iron.Now it runs great.My Atlas Kato units I have all run great.They are now over 10 yrs old.Kato is a reliable product and just like anything else there are lemons.I would contact Kato and see what they say about your problems.Athearn is also a nice product but comes up short when compared to Kato.Atlas I believe are the best for the money and detail.But that Kato motor beats them all.Dan
I have several Kato engines, some over 10 years old. I had to change the electrical pickup on two of the engines but, other than that, I’ve never had a mechanical or electrical problem with any of my Katos. I can’t say the same thing about Athearn, Lifelike or Atlas.
Mr. Gibson
My position stands, 3 out of 4 Kato engines do not run, I now buy Atlas engines we will see in a year how many of them run. Spend your money as you please, and I will do the same. Others beware Kato’s have been runs of engines.
I believe Kato QC has gone down hill somewhat in recent years, Their first HO Scale locomotive was the SD-40, if memory serves me correctly, The two Kato SD-40 locomotives that I bought just after they were introduced, out perform my newer Kato"s, They are quieter, smoother running models than my newer Kato power, The same holds true for my two older Kato C-44-9-W locomotives, all four of them outperform my new Kato units, makes me wonder what direction Kato is headed with their new offerings, and their quality control, my experience only, others will differ, I"m shure.
Many may recall I had a very nasty experience with a Kato NW2.It was junk pure and simple and should have never left Japan.[:(!] Now that was 14 years ago…Fast forward to 2004.I have 4 Kato GP35s that I traded 4 Atlas GP40s for…I have no complaints about these units what so ever.[:D] These units run just as well as my Atlas and Atlas/Kato units…Now,Of course my 4 Athearn CF7s and all 3 of my Walther’s GP15s runs as equally well as does my P2Ks.My tweaked Athearn Blue Box locomotives can take their rightful place among these high dollar units…
I think it strange that I see the Athearn Genesis units run flawlessly at the club while so many reports having problems with these units…I fail to understand this…[?][?]
Now to be fair I have had problems with every brand except Athearn and my 3 Walther’s GP15s…I had problems with my Atlas units,One Atlas/Kato unit-the motor was loose,replaced gears in 11 of my 38 P2Ks and of course that Junker NW2…Oh yes! I had 2 Atlas/Kato RS11s back in 93 that love to go through motor brushes…I solved that problem by using high performance slot car motor brushes.[:D]
Yes Gentlemen I am sure most brands have a dog or two they shouldn’t have made, I can’t understand why I hit the lucky Kato numbers right in a row. I was really excited with the Kato brand when I first bought it, but Geez. I am hoping for better luck with the current Atlas brand. P2K I am not sure about them, I have one. I saw the sd 75 in the athearn brand in CN but I don’t think it would make it through my current switches.